III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 593 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 12, 2008 Mr. Levin (for himself and Ms. Stabenow) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Honoring the Detroit Red Wings on winning the 2008 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Championship.

Whereas, on June 4, 2008, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3 to 2 in game 6 of the National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals; Whereas that triumph marks the 11th Stanley Cup Championship in the history of the Red Wings, bringing the total number of Stanley Cup Championships won by the Red Wings to more than the number won by any other professional hockey team in the United States; Whereas that triumph also marks the fourth Stanley Cup Championship for the Red Wings in 11 seasons, building on the team's reputation as one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the National Hockey League; Whereas the championship win caps a historic season in which the Red Wings set a National Hockey League record for the most victories during the first half of the regular season (30–8–3), captured a seventh consecutive division title, earned a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 17th consecutive season, and won a sixth Presidents' Cup Trophy for the best regular season record in the National Hockey League; Whereas, led by Captain Nicklas Lidstrom, the Red Wings, employing a combination of both youth and experience, became National Hockey League champions through pure grit and determination; Whereas Nicklas Lidstrom, born in Västerås, Sweden, became the first European-born National Hockey League player to captain a Stanley Cup Championship team; Whereas Henrik Zetterberg, through his hard work and skill on both ends of the ice, won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs; Whereas Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Tomas Holmstrom, and Darren McCarty have all been members of the team for the last 4 Stanley Cups won by the Red Wings, and Chris Osgood, Chris Chelios, and Brian Rafalski have each earned their third Stanley Cup Championship; Whereas Marian and Mike Ilitch, the owners of the Red Wings and community leaders in Michigan, have once again returned Lord Stanley’s Cup to the city of Detroit; Whereas Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock, following in the footsteps of the great Scotty Bowman, has won his first Stanley Cup Championship; Whereas the Red Wings, who have played in Detroit since 1926, continue to be prized and cherished by all Michiganders and Red Wing fans across the country; Whereas, since 1952, Red Wings fans have continued the tradition of the Legend of the Octopus, throwing octopi onto the ice, each of the 8 tentacles symbolizing the original 8 games needed to win the Stanley Cup; Whereas Detroit, otherwise known as Hockeytown, U.S.A., is home to the most loyal fan base in the world; Whereas the passion and support of all Red Wings fans have assisted the team through this long and difficult season, enabling the players to achieve the greatest prize in all of hockey, the Stanley Cup; Whereas each Red Wings player made a valuable contribution to the team’s success and will be remembered on the most illustrious sports trophy, the Stanley Cup; and Whereas those Red Wings players are Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Pavel Datsyuk, Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, Kris Draper, Jonathan Ericsson, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, Mark Hartigan, Dominik Hasek, Tomas Holmstrom, Jimmy Howard, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Kopecky, Niklas Kronwall, Brett Lebda, Nicklas Lidstrom, Andreas Lilja, Justin Abdelkader, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty, Derek Meech, Chris Osgood, Kyle Quincey, Brian Rafalski, Mikael Samuelsson, Mattias Ritola, Darren Helm, Jakub Kindl, Brad Stuart, and Henrik Zetterberg: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate congratulates the Detroit Red Wings on winning the 2008 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Championship.